Ivano-Frankivsk

Ivano-Frankivsk, former (until 1962) Stanislav, is a city and administrative center of Ivano-Frankivsk oblast located in the western part of Ukraine.

Ivano-Frankivsk city lies along the Bystritsa River just above its confluence with the Dnyster River. Ivano-Frankivsk is a railway and highway junction of the region. There is also an airport in the city. There are medical and teacher-training institutes and schools for training in the oil and gas industries in Ivano-Frankivsk.

Ivano-Frankivsk city has the population of about 225,000 (2011).

Ivano-Frankivsk was founded in 1662 as the town of Stanislawiw. After the first partition of Poland (1772) the town was held by Austria till 1919. From 1919 till 1939 the city was a part of Poland.

In 1939 together with all the western Ukraine it became the part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1945 the city was ceded to the Soviet Union and named Stanislav.

I n 1962 the city turned 300 years old. It was renamed and since that time it bears the name of the great Ukrainian writer and social worker Ivan Franko who often visited the town, wrote and read his works there.

In the early 1990s the city was one of the centers of Ukrainian independence movement.

Ivano-Frankivsk sights of interest

Parish Church (Art Museum). Former Catholic Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the most valuable architectural monuments in the city. In Soviet times, the church was closed, and the building was used as an art museum. Today the art museum can still be found there. ,

Resurrection Cathedral. The building of the Austro-Bavarian architecture school with clear features of classicism. The tops of the towers are made in the style of Gutsulskaya wooden architecture.

Armenian Church. The building with two towers in Baroque style located near the market square was built in the 18th century. Two restorations made in the 19th and 20th centuries significantly changed the building. The interiors are fully preserved because in Soviet times the building was the museum of religion and atheism.

The City Hall (Local History Museum). Constructivist building located on the Rynok (Market) Square is the most recognizable symbol of the city (the height is 49.5 meters). In its current form the building was constructed in the first half of the 20th century.

The building hosts several exhibitions of local history museum: nature, history, folk art, and archeology. Several collections of weapons and books, as well as antique furniture are also presented. The total number of exhibits is about 120 thousand items.,

One Hundred Meters. “One hundred meters” or simply “hundred” (“sotka”) is the name of the pedestrian part of Nezalezhnist’ (Independence) street. Its real length is about half a kilometer. This is the most popular walking area of the city.

There are many outdoor cafes and restaurants, bookstores and boutiques. Every year new forged sculptures are placed in this street and the streets located nearby. A fragment of the defensive wall with bastion is all that remains of the old fortifications of Stanislav fortress. Currently, the renovated complex hosts “Bastion” gallery - a shopping and entertainment complex with a terrace for walks, souvenir shops and boutiques.

Adam Mitskevich Statue (1898). It is the second statue. The first one was destroyed in 1914 because of artillery firing.

1.	confluence	впадання (про річку)
2.	railway and highway junction	залізничне і магістральне сполучення
3.	oil and gas industry	нафто-газова промисловість
4.	population	населення
5.	partition	поділ
6.	valuable	цінний
7.	wooden architecture	дерев’яна архітектура
8.	tower	вежа
9.	market square	ринкова площа
10.	antique furniture	стародавні меблі
11.	pedestrian part	пішохідна частина
12.	defensive wall	оборонна стіна
13.	artillery firing	артилерійський обстріл